Monthly Archives: November 2012

With all the new architectural wonders springing from the drawing board to reality these days, is it so difficult to imagine a house that can transform itself to fit a variety of configurations? Seems that the D’Dynamic – a house that can fold itself into eight different configurations – could bring this idea to reality. This building’s distinctive design is based on the Haberdasher’s Puzzle, discovered by English mathematician Henry Dudeney, which allows an equilateral triangle that’s cut into four…

We’re approaching the most dangerous time of the year, the point at which we forget all scruples, all common sense and indulge in what can only be described as an orgy of consumption. Never mind the material cost of all this bingeing, what about our health? One way to fight the inevitable new year guilt is to invest in a set of scales which will offer some sort of diet escape plan, and help us return to a reasonable shape…

If you run a small business, there’s never enough time in the day to get everything done, and often one of the main casualties is invoicing your customers. It’s just such a chore to drag up your invoicing program or service and set out all the details, and then locate the address to send it to and so on. Huge drag.

Remember Dune? Based on the novel by Frank Herbert, Dune tells the epic story of a battle for resources by various dynasties across the galaxy. It was made into a lackluster movie and also spawned a short series of video games, which in fact led to the whole massive Real Time Strategy (RTS) genre which included later games like Command & Conquer.

Have you seen Monty Python and the Holy Grail? I’d feel a bit shocked if you haven’t, actually. If you’ve pondered how a swallow could carry a coconut, then you’ve likely wished you had two halves of a coconut so that you sound like you’re riding a horse. While we can’t exactly tote around a coconut all day for a bit of comic relief, it can be attached to our modes of transportation for an added dab of hilarity.

Electronic music is both entrancing, and very difficult to make. While the purists who believe that classical music is the only “real” music (they do exist, and they’re quite serious), music like electronica has its own method to madness, and technical skill. If you’ve ever taken interest in this kind of music, and wanted to dabble in it, then playing with an analog synth might be fun.

Wearing a watch is really more of a fashion statement than a necessity anymore. We don’t need them because we can pull out our phones and check the time at just about any point in the day. However, if you do decide to wear a timepiece, you might as well go for something with a little bit of intrigue. The Kisai Polygon LCD Watch looks like a jumble of geometric shapes, but is actually quite simple to read once you…

There aren’t a lot of ways you can show how weird you are without getting arrested, except perhaps for singing loudly in train carriages. Bizarre clothing can often do it as can strange hairstyles, but the one thing guaranteed to get you noticed nowadays is to flourish some sort of gadget meme, preferably with a multi-million dollar franchise behind it.

We all know the age of the robot is coming, what with Asimo, Aibo, QRIO and the rest. The thing about them all, though, is they’re just a bit intimidating. Watching Asimo skip, run and swivel is rather like watching a Terminator kitten romping about just before it turns on you with eyes blazing.

Everyone likes a singalong now and again, hence the popularity of karaoke bars. What more fun can you have than belting out your favorite tune to an appreciative and tone deaf audience? Of course we can’t all have the vocal talent of [put your fave singer here], but why should we give up? Instead a better idea might be to try and improve our ability and really wow the crowd.

Learning how to play an instrument can be pretty difficult. Let’s say you pick a stringed instrument. Not only do you need to learn simple things like how to hold it, but also individual notes on each string, how to combine them, bowing techniques, and upkeep. If you’d prefer an instrument that you don’t even have to touch, then do I have an instrument for you!

Our phones have a shorter lifespan than flies, which is not exactly a good thing. We get a couple of hours of use out of it, then it’s hovering around 20% by lunch. It doesn’t help that we’re checking Facebook and Twitter every five minutes, but we still need our phones handy in case an emergency pops up. If you have quick access to an outlet, then you needn’t worry about recharging, but not everyone has this luxury. Should this…

Finding out it snowed last night is nice to wake up to, because you get to see a fresh, white blanket of snow. Of course, it also means you have to scrap it all off of your car. Those are the days that have you running behind, because not only did you have to spend time cleaning off your car, but you’re also trying to maneuver through traffic, as everyone forgets how to drive when it’s slick out. While you…

Are you an outgoing type who enjoys meeting new people and giving them presentations about stuff? Bit of a teacher are you? Always gathering a crowd, but don’t know exactly how to keep them engaged and in synch with your message? Well now there’s a way you can do all that with just a wave of your phone.

Will there be a backlash? Will people become so fed up with being constantly tethered to a communication device, phone, computer, wireless network, satellite tracking system that they’ll rebel and move ‘off-grid’ en masse? There’s probably already a movement building amongst certain elements of society, social hermits, radiation sensitive souls and the like, and it’s inevitable that it will grow over time.